Drowning
by spiritlight25
Summary: What would you do if you were sinking to your doom? How would you escape? Do you try to save yourself or do you let yourself fall?


I was listening to a song called Bring Me To Life by Evanescence one day and the idea for this oneshot popped into my head. I was listening to it over and over to help me write this. It took me about a week to finish. I should **_so_** be asleep by now but I wanted to put this up. This oneshot is a little break from my other story. Alright, that's enough of me. Happy reading!

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Drowning

He knew he was falling. He knew he was in danger. But he didn't know where he was or how he got here… wherever "here" was.

Luigi could barely open his eyes. He blinked a few times to clear his vision. When his eyes were now completely focused he gasped at his surroundings. His eyes suddenly went wide. One hand went to his mouth while the other to his chest.

_H- how did I get here?_

He was underwater. Nothing but cold, purple liquid surrounded him. Strangely, Luigi knew where he saw this kind of water before. But where exactly?

Suddenly, something grabbed him by the leg and began to pull him further down. The plumber glanced down to his attacker, only to see nothing but…

_A hand?_

The hand was completely disembodied and looked somewhat skeleton-like. One look and it'll bound to give anyone the creeps.

Just looking at it suddenly made everything click in his mind.

_I'm… in the River Twygz. But how did I get here?_

But wondering how he got here wasn't all that important. What was important was getting out alive and fast.

Shaking the Underhand off of his leg, Luigi began to swim upwards towards the surface. What he hadn't realized was how long he had been sinking. It was so deep that it made it hard to tell where the source of light was. There was nothing but the dark, cold, purple water and dozens of those creepy hands.

That didn't stop him from trying. He swam up, kicking his legs with all his might. He noticed that his sleeves were torn but he didn't care. He had to get out as quickly as possible.

As he swam he thought he heard something.

_**"…gi…"**_

He couldn't tell whether it was in his head or not but it sounded very faint, distant even. He continued his ascend to the surface.

_**"Lui…gi…"**_

The voice sounded a bit clearer. It was so gentle yet scared at the same time.

_**"…hurry…"**_

Just what was the voice trying to say? Luigi had no time to question anything. His life was on the line, after all.

_**"You… make it…" **_This time it was a second voice. Was Luigi hearing things?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another Underhand making its way towards him. He quickened his pace to get away from it but to no avail. It grabbed him by the collar of his green shirt, pulling him down.

He struggled to pry it off but the hand was persistent. While the plumber kept trying to free himself of the grasp, he felt a sudden tug at his legs. Two more of those hands had latched onto him.

_Let go! _he mentally shouted as he shook them off. But the hands had a firm grip on him so he couldn't break free.

Luigi felt his lungs were getting ready to give in and that this would be the end of him. As the hands began to pull him further down, he started to wonder… Was anyone going to save him? Did anyone even know what was happening to him? Did anyone even _care?_

_I guess… I guess no one will even care if I'm gone. _He closed his eyes as he accepted his fate.

**"_Don't give up." _**His eyes suddenly snapped open.

**_"Just hang on." _**Both of those voices were now clear to the plumber and he knew who they belonged to. He looked up, and if he weren't underwater he would've gasped in surprise.

_Mario! Daisy!_ Were his eyes deceiving him or was he really seeing them?

_**"Come on, little brother. You can make it."**_

He didn't care if it was real or not. He knew his loved ones would be devastated if they were to lose him.

Luigi began to fight back from the Underhands that were dragging him down. The hands were persistent in bringing him with them but that didn't stop the young plumber. He continued his struggle as the grips tightened, the hands showing no sign of surrender. Luigi kicked and flailed about, knowing that if he didn't escape he would surely lose this fight.

_**"Come on, Luigi…"**_

_Daisy…_ The man closed his eyes and pushed himself upward, doing a spin for a boost as he did so. The Underhands were shaken off from the surprise spin and dispersed from the spot where they had their prey. Without a second thought, Luigi quickly swam through the purple liquid once more.

…_Don't worry, Daisy. I'm coming._

The voyage felt long to him but he didn't care. He wanted to see his loved ones again no matter what the cost. He looked up longingly at the visions of his older brother and his special one. Their voices had never left his ears as he tried to resurface. It gave him the inner strength to go on and be with them, even if it was one last time.

_Just hold on a little longer, guys. I know I can make it._

Luigi wasn't sure how long he had been swimming. The muscles in his legs started to hurt a little as well as his arms. But he didn't care. His lungs were starting to ache. He still didn't care. He didn't want to bother worrying about all that right now. His conscience was telling him to give up and accept his horrible fate. However, his heart was telling him to keep going if that meant costing his own life in the process. And there was absolutely no way that he was going to let them down. That wasn't what Luigi was known for.

The plumber suddenly felt something tightening around his arms and legs. _Not again._

The Underhands had returned with a vengeance, determined as ever to take Luigi down. There was one hand per arm and leg, their grip even tighter. It was like they had a mind of their own.

Luigi couldn't take much more of this. His body ached and his lungs were starting to constrict from lack of oxygen. He looked up in desperation as the two visions of Mario and Daisy slowly began to whither away right in front of him. Their hands were reaching out for him… calling him… He saw the hope and fear in their eyes and it hurt him to see them like that, mirage or not.

Luigi couldn't struggle as much as earlier. He was exhausted but he kept trying. The Underhands' grip was so strong and that did nothing to ease the pain in the man's aching limbs.

He was running out of time and he knew he had to try one last time. The images were almost gone and he didn't want them to go yet. The plumber started to flail violently out of the grasp. The hands that were holding his left leg and right arm had slightly loosened their hold but not for too long. Their sharp nails dug through his clothes and into his skin, causing him to wince in pain. He could barely see the illusions fading away until they finally disappeared.

_No. No! Come back! Please!_

Luigi gave it one more go as he headed towards the surface. He was getting closer and closer to the surface he could tell. He didn't care about the hands that were latched on to him. He wanted to see Daisy and Mario again. The hands squeezed harder to restrain him. Luigi winced again from the discomfort. He could've sworn he saw small red mists mixing with the dark-colored water. One of the Underhands had been pried off and the next thing he knew he felt an excruciatingly painful scratch at his cheek. Luigi could clearly see a deep shade of red mix with the water now.

_Someone… help me…_

Luigi knew that he could no longer go on. His body was too tired and his lungs were ready to burst. He released his breath that he had been holding and let himself sink, allowing the Underhands to carry him back down to the depths of the river. As he was pulled further and further below, he closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

Little did he know that something was making its way towards him. He didn't know what was going on at first but he suddenly felt something grab him by the waist and was being pulled up. For a moment he thought that it was another one of those creepy hands. But he then realized something different about this hand. It wasn't skeleton-like at all. Instead it was more human. Was someone saving him? Did someone answer his prayers?

Luigi couldn't look at whoever was saving his life. His eyelids felt as heavy as boulders. But for some reason, he knew who his savior was. The grip was strong yet gentle. It was the same grip that protected him from his fears… The same grip that raised him up whenever he was pushed down… The same grip that embraced him caringly when times were rough… He knew it all too well.

_Mario… thank you… for rescuing me… _A smile appeared on Luigi's injured face as his consciousness slowly slipped away.

Mario glanced down at his unconscious brother and noticed the smile that was plastered on his face. He smiled back at him.

_You're welcome, little brother._

End.

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Don't worry, Luigi's only out cold. That's all.

Anyway, feel free to leave a review if you like. :)


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